Home and Garden Roundup for Week of 7/14/2008 - Garden Plants and Gardening Forum

lspichkin · 07-16-2008, 12:45 PM

A weekly roundup of the top stories from the Home & Garden sections of leading newspapers around the country.

The Los Angeles Times Home & Garden: Beating the drought: An Orange County garden blooms with beauty, sans sprinklers

Quote:

Sarkissian, whose nearby house was untouched by fire, is a passionate lover of dry landscape with the eye of an artist and the mind of an engineer. Talk to her about earth, wind, fire and especially water -- she knows exactly what it takes to have a water-wise yet bountiful garden in Southern California.

If gardens are autobiography, Sarkissian has spent 13 years writing hers on canyon land. High school teacher, water harvester and amateur botanist, she lives with husband Geoff on a creek-hugging acre that includes a front garden that is 75% irrigation-free. The backyard too is carefully designed not to waste a drop of water with plenty of California natives and other dry-habitat plants that bring beauty and tranquillity with minimal use of hose and not one sprinkler.

Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times

Take a look at a photo gallery of the Modjeska Canyon garden.

The Miami Herald Gardening: Sapodilla likes its space, rewards with shade, fruit

Quote:

The lovely fruit from the sapodilla tastes like pears with cinnamon and may be eaten fresh or used to make ice cream.

Carl Juste/Miami Herald Staff

The Seattle Post Intelligencer NW Gardens : The Worst Spot in Your Yard: Transforming your walkway into a bulb garden

Quote:

This shaded walkway could be transformed into to a "Hosta Heaven/Bulb Garden."

Start by removing the camellias or whatever shrubs I can see struggling to grow in this dark, dry site. You don't need more evergreens adding to the darkness.

Instead, plant a collection of shade-loving hosta plants -- some with white or bright yellow leaves to really add light and color to this shady lane.

SPU

The Austin American-Statesman: Don't let insects bug you; some should be celebrated

Quote:

Our gardens and landscapes are teeming with insects, mites and other creepy-crawlies, most of which remain largely unseen or at least unnoticed. People differ greatly in their tolerance for insects. Some folks would take the approach that the only good insect is a dead insect and strive for a bug-free landscape. This is neither practical nor truly attainable and comes at a significant environmental cost.

Robert 'Skip' Richter/American-Statesman

The New York Times: Seeding Now for Late Bounty

Quote:

There is still time to plant beans, carrots, summer squash, cucumbers and other fast-maturing crops as well. Check the number of days from germination to harvest, and then count the days before the estimated first frost; in the New York area, that ranges from Oct. 20 on eastern Long Island to Nov. 10 in New York City. Your local agricultural extension service can provide an accurate date.

This is also a good time to replant fast-growing herbs like basil and coriander, which have flowered by now. (At this point, the leaves probably taste like gasoline.)

The New York Times

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